Good Reads: July

Another book post!  I've been reading a lot this month and I wanted to share before the list got too long, and since it's the last day of the month already (!!!), I figured I'd better get it posted.  This month's roundup of books has kept me completely engaged and I actually remember what it's like to lose myself in a story and walk around in a book-fog, which hasn't happened in a long time.

What Alice Forgot

This month's book club pick, I could not put it down.  The story of a suburban mom who wakes up on the floor of her gym thinking she's 29 and pregnant with her first child, only to find out she's actually 39 and at a completely different stage of life.  I read this in two days (thank you to my loving husband who had the kids out in the yard all weekend), totally engrossed in the weaving, twisting stories.  Highly recommend.  I just started another one by the same author, The Husband's Secret.

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant

This fantastic collection of essays by well-known authors about a memorable experience eating and/or dining alone made me think about my favorite go-to alone foods during those times I spent cooking for just myself.  I think I'll write a post on it at some point.  If you enjoy nonfiction and food writing and observing people then this is a great choice.

Attachments

The premise of this book is really clever- a young man hired to monitor company email ends up falling for one of the people he monitors just from reading her email.  A very witty story about post-college life, this was a quick read and would be great for the beach or an airplane- not that the story was forgettable, just that it goes fast.  The only thing that bugged me was that for all the cleverness throughout the book, the ending was a little sappy.  I also read Eleanor & Park by the same author, which turned out to be YA but also very good, and I have Fangirl lined up plus Landline on hold, so I suppose I would just recommend this author.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

This actually reminded me a lot of What Alice Forgot in that it deals with snippy private school parents, and it turned out to be a really interesting story.  Bernadette is an infamous architect who has developed severe social anxiety and disappears one night.  The narrative is mostly told through emails, messages, texts, and official reports.  It took me a bit to get into it but it was a really interesting story.  I get to pick the next book club book for my group, and this one is going to be it.  I grabbed This One is Mine by the same author but haven't gotten into it yet.

I'm always looking for recommendations- what have you been reading lately?